Trunk



May 14, 1929. L H LL D Y 1,712,612

TRUNK Filed March 28, 1927 INVENT OR pensive dies, presses Patented May14, 1929.

uurrEo STATES rA'rENr OFFICE.

GAL'V 1N L. HALLADAY, OF SAGINEUQV, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR T0 SAGINAW SHEETIMETAL PARTS GORIGRATIQN, MICHIGAN.

E-EAG-TIINAN. MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF TRUNK.

Application filed lifiarch 28, 192% Serial No. H8339.

This invention relates to trunlis made of sheet met-cl, morepsrtieulerly storm-proof automobile trunks, adapted to be fastened tobaggage rocks or other supports.

An. object is to provide a sheet metal trunk structure with reinforcingand interlocking seems so it can be made economically and rapidly, singonly the ordinary equipment of a sheet metal working plant, without e11or forming miichines, and it can be easily and quickly assembled withoutspecial tools.

Another object is to facilitate tasteningthe seems by spot-welding orriveting during process of assembling.

A novel reindorced construction for the bottom edges of the trunk isalso it feature of the invention, whereby cracking at the bottom seemafter prolonged use is prevented.

Among the advantages attained by my improvement are the following:

The front and bottom are made in one piece, the heck is in one piece,and there cretwo one'piece ends, all provided with :tolde" seems soconstructed as to enable the. bottom member to be assembled with the endmembers by a. simple sliding or telescoping movement, and the back canbe added in like manner to complete the trunk body. assembly.

All seems that are to be spot-weldcd can by this arrangement beexposedto the terminsls oi a standard commercial Welding mechine in atmost convenient and accessible manner, avoiding the necessity of usingspecially designed Welding jaws to reach the scenes. Lifting, turning orlike meni iulotion and handling of the trunk ports While being welded isalso avoided by the method of assembling which my improved constructionmakes possible. y

A turther object of the invention is to provide or construction havingfront and bottom becl edges in which no seemed joint lSClli ployed esheretofore, and consequently there can be no buckling movement oi themetal at those places, causing crystallization and. cracking along thebottom edges near the anchor bolts, a detect that frequently develops intrunks having their bottoms set into the side walls and lioolnseamed,

My improvement also provides a three-ply anchorage tor the holding-downbolts, giving a large reinforced tires that distributes the being lowcrthenits beck wall.

stress of holding down over the whole trunk body. j l

The invention also includes an end well having a. trough-likereintorcing member near its upperedge adopted to drain water to thefront and outside the trunk.

With the foregoing and certain other objects in view, which will appearlater in the specifications, my invention comprises the devicesdescribednnd claimed and the equivalentslthereof.

In the drawings Fig. l e front view oi the trunk with the lid raised,the manner of assembling an end indicated by dotted lines.

Fig. is a perspective View, partly broken away, showing the portsdisassembled.

Fig. 3 is it fragmentary cross section on line 8-3 of Fig. 1, showingdetails oi the joints. 3 j Fig. l is an enlarged detail on lines l l ofFig. l.

. As is clearly shown in the drawings, the trunk structure comprises 21.bottom and front wall, the upper edge of which has at horizon tellydisposed drain ledge with an upwerdly extending flange, it back wallhaving it lid hinged thereto, and end walls, the contiguous uprightedges of the end, front and back walls formed with interlockinglongitudinal flanges, by which the front-bottom can be HS- sembled withthe two ends to form 2i subassembly, and the back can be applied to thesub-assembly, all by endwise slidingin inten locked relation.

Each of the upright end walls 1, 1 has its bottom edge 2 bent inwardlyto form it l1or1- zontel flange that constitutes ii reinforcing platefor the trunk bottom 3. Each end well has its vertical edges, both frontand rear, formed with inwardly projecting flanges that extend from thebottom of the trunk up to the cover. The book edge flange 4- extends thefull height of the trunk, and the front ed ge flange 5 is shorter, thefront wall of the trunk Each of the upright hinges 4, 5 is foldedinwardly back upon itself to form one channel member of a double scamjoint, which unites the upright end Well 1 to the front wall 6 and backwell 7. Each upright end wall has its top edge curved to conform to theshape of the lid, and flanged inwardly to present it smooth. edge 8,Fig. 1-.

A trough-like member 9 is secured by spot- Welding, or otherwise, to theinner face of each upright end 1, near itstop edge, the troughconforming in shape to the curve of the edge. This member 9 reinforcesthe end 1 and receivesthe reinforcing rib of the lid, as will later beexplained, and serves as a sloping drain to prevent any water that seepsthrough underneath the edge of the cover from collecting inside thetrunk.

The front and bottom of the trunk are formed in one piece, as shown inFig. 2.

This feature of my invention avoids a wellknown defect that hasdeveloped in practice with trunks having inset tray bottoms that areseamed to the upright walls. My construction avoids tearing out of thetrunk bottom nearthe ends where the bottom is attached tothe trunk rack.

The integral, front and bottom for all ordinary sizes of trunks can bemade from stock sizes of sh ets, without waste and can be made cheaplyand accurately with the equipment and tools of an ordinary sheet metalshop.

The front wall 6 has its upper edge formed with a horizontally disposedoffset member or ledge 10, by being bent inwardly and then flangedupwardly, the raw edge at the top being folded inside to present a.smooth finish.

The upright flange 11 of the ledge is cut short at each end to permitthe end lips 12 of the two drain troughs to register with and rest uponthe horizontal ledge 10, so that seepageof water which drains downthetrough 9, as above described, will escape across the ledge and beprevented from accumulating in .the trunk. The plate 2 at the bottom ofside wall l-keepsthe lip 12 of the trough and the ledge 10 in properposition by acting as a stop against the bottom 8 when the front and endwalls'are assembled. i

The upper edge of the upright flange 11 is close tothe lid 13 whenclosed, as shown in detail, Fig. 3, to prevent entrance of dirt.Thefront wall 6 has its upright edges 14. 14 foldedupon its outerface,as shown in Fig. 2, and they constitute the complemental tongue membersof the double-seamed joint that secures the front wa-ll 6 to the endwalls 1 1 1 The bottom 3, which as already stated, is

in one piece with the front wall, has its rear edge 15 flanged upwardly.It also has flat reinforcing straps 1,6, 16 secured by welding orotherwise to its inslde surface and preferably near each end of thetrunk, as indicated by dotted lines inFig. 2, and in Fig. 3.

' The back end of each reinforcing strap 16 is bent upwardly to formaflange 17 extending parallel with the flange 15 on the rear edge of thetrunk bottom, and is spaced from it, so the two flanges 15, 17 togetherform a slot or clip that receives and holds the bottom edge of the backwall 7, as shown in Fig. 3.

This feature, while forming an important .part of my present trunkstructure, 1s also capable of eing used in sheet metal trunks ofdifferent design, and is, therefore, considered as being in itselfpatentably novel and is so claimed herein.

The back wall 7 is a flat sheet of metal that has its upright edges 18,18 folded outwardly to form complemental members of doubleseamed jointsthat unite the end pieces 1, 1 to the back wall 7. The top edge of theback wall is folded rearward and downward, ter- -minating in tubularhinge members 19, and

its lower edge is tightly secured between the flange 15 of the trunkbottom and flange 17 of the reinforcing strap by riveting, welding, orin any other suitable'nmnner.

Lid 13 is a sheet of metal hinged at its back edge to the back wall 7.It slopes from back toward the front with increasing curvature, thefront edge 20 being flush with the front wall 6 when the lid is closed,as shownin Fig. 3. The back edge of the lid is preferably flangeddownwardly and outwardly, overlapping the top edge of the back wall andterminating in complementary tubular hinge members 21, which, togetherwith hinge members 19 on back wall 7, receive the pintle 22 and completethe hinge.

The lid has its front edge formed with an inwardly directed flange 23that rests upon the sloping ledge 10 of the front wall. The side edgesof the lid 13 are folded inward, as shown in Fig. 4, to overlap theflange 24 of a reinforcing rib 25 on the under side of lid 13. Thereinforcing rib 25 serves also as a. means for keeping the lid jointsdust-tight, for it extends down close to the bottom of the drain trough9 on the end wall 1 when the lid is closed.

A rib or offset 13 may be formed in the lid 13 to more firmly hold therib 25 in place.

The trunk can be quickly assembled. without of the aid of special tools,in the following manner The two end walls 1 are stood upon a floor orbench in the manner indicated in the lower part of Fig. 1. The unitaryfront and bottom is then assembled with the two sides by interlockingthe flanges 5 on ends 1. with flanges 14 on front 6, and pushing thefront down, so that the interlocked flanges telescope lengthwise. Thebottom 3 comes to rest upon the reinforcing flanges 2. This sub-assemblyof frontbottom and ends is taken to the spot-welder. The mounting holes16, which have been previously punched, are aligned by a drift pin. Theflanges 2, 2 are spot-welded to the bottom 3, the jaws of the weldingmachine entering from the back of the trunk, which is open.

The two reinforcing straps 16, 16 are then placed inside the bottom,aligning the mounting holes with a drift pin in the same manner, and thereinforcing strip, bottom and inwardly projecting flange 2 are allwelded together intoa three-ply anchorage structure.

The reinforcing straps 16 are at the same time welded to the front wall6. The back 7, without cover 13, is then similarly assembled, by meansof the two tel scoping scams 4, 18, and is pushed down until the topedge of back 7 is flush with the tops ofthe ends 1. The lower edge ofback 7 may or may not bottom at the bottom of the trunk, as shown inFig. 3, for the reason that the back, being inserted at the front of theup-turnedfia-rge l5 and behind the up-turried-edges 17 of thereinforcing strips, is welded throughout its length to the flange 15 andis also welded to the up-turned edges 17 of theinside reinforcing strip.It is desirable also to spot-weld the two back seams 4;, 18 in severalplaces to prevent the seam fromsliding out or being pulled apart.

The foregoing constitute all of the assembling operations on the boxitself.

For practical reasons it is advisable to enamel or paint the box andcover separately. Therefore, the cover is assembled later by insortingthe hinge rod or pintle 22.

The completed trunk is fixed to the luggage rack of an automobile bymeans of anchor bolts 26 that pass through the reinforced three-ply partof the bottom near the end walls.

The assembled trunk is dust-proof and storm-proof and rigid to withstandthe jolts and stresses that automobile trunks are usually subjected to.

When the lid is closed its inner reinforcing ribs 25 come close to thebottoms of the troughs 9 on the end walls and thus divide the troughinto two parts, as if by a. lengthwise partition, thereby performing thedouble function of supporting the lid and serving as battles torestrictor prevent air circulation into or out from the trunk. The inwardly turned flange 23 takes its seat on the ledge 10 and the upwardlyprojecting flange 11 of the ledge comes up close to the under side ofthe lid, thus forming a double jainb that prevents air circulation.

If water driven against an end of the trunk, from a washing hose, getsunder the cover it will. be stopped by the reinforcing rib 25 on thecover and will run down the trough 9, escaping by crossing the ledge 10.The end lip 12 of the trough and the inner edge of the ledge 10preferably overlap for that purpose.

Water striking the front of the trunk and getting through the jointsformed by ledge 10 and flange 23 will be stopped by the up standingflange 11.

Water forced against the back wall of the trunk deflects upward, but cannot get inside, because of the downwardly and out wardly projectinghinged flange 19; and water from above will be shed by the other hingedflange 21 on the lid.

The above described construction provides atrunk of unusual strength,but of considerable flexibility. i

An automobile trunk that is bolted to a trunk'rack at the rear of thetonneau receives its greatest strain from fore-and-alt forces, such asjerks of starting, stopping and erratic application of engine power thatcauses intermittent jumping of the chassis and more or less violent foreanctaft jerking of the tonneau and trunk. The trunk structure describedherein is adapted to eflectively resist stresses of that character,without any ten dency for the metal to crystallize and break along thebottom seams.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patout is: l

1. A sheet metal trunk having a bottom, a front wall, a back wall havinga lid hinged thereto, and end walls, the contiguous up right edges ofsaid end, front, and back walls formed with interlocking longitudinal.flanges adapted to be assembled by endwise sliding in interlockedrelation, each end wall formed with an inwardly projecting horizontalflange at its lower edge, said flange adapted to underlie the trunkbottom and constituting a reinforcing plate therefor.

2. A trunk having a bottom, a front wall, a back wall and a lid hingedthereto, the back edge of said bottom flanged upwardly, reinforcingstraps secured to the inner face of said bottom, the back ends of saidstraps flanged upwardly, the lower edge of said back wall receivedbetween the upright flanges of said straps and bottom, end walls havingtheir upright edges engaged with the respective upright edges of thefront and back walls by sliding endwise in interlocked relationtherewith, the lower edge of each end wall formed with an inwardlyprojecting horizontal flange adapted to underlie the trunk bottom andsaid strap and constituting, together with said inner reinforcing strap,a three-ply anchorage band for said bottom.

A. sheet metal trunk comprising a bottom, a front wall the upper edge ofwhich has a horizontally disposed ledge with an upwardly extendingflange, a back wall haw ing a lid hinged thereto, and end walls, thecontiguous upright edges of said end, front, and back walls formed withinterlocking longitudinal flanges adapted to be assembled by endwisesliding in interlocked relation, each end wall having near its upperedge a troughlike reinforcing member adapted to drain onto said ledge,an inwardly projecting horizontal flange on the lower edge of each endwall adapted to underlie the trunk bottom,

constituting a reinforcing plate therefor, and

, serving also asa stop for locating the end of the trough and theledge.

4. A trunk having a bottom, a front wall, a back wall and a lid hingedthereto, the back edge of'said bottom flanged upwardly, reinforcingstraps secured to the inner face of said bottom at the end thereof, theback ends of said straps flanged upwardly, the lower edge of said backWall received between the upright flanges of said straps and bottom, endwalls each'formed with an inwardly projecting horizontal flange adaptedto underlie the trunk bottom and'constituting, together with said innerreinforcing strap, a three-ply anchorage band for said bottom.

5. A sheet metal trunk having a bottom, a

. front wall, a back wall having alid hinged I an inwardly projectinghorizontal flange at its lower edge, said flange adapted tounderthereto, and end walls, the contiguous upright edges of said endand back walls formed with interlocking longitudinal flanges adapted tobe assembled by endwise sliding in interlocked relation, each endwall'formed with lie the'trunk bottom and constituting a re inforcingplate therefor.

6. A sheet metal trunk comprising a bottom, a front wall the upper edgeof which has a horizontally disposed lodge with an upwardly extendingflange, a back wall having a lid hinged thereto, and end walls, thecontiguous upright ed es of said end and back walls formed withinterlocking longitudinal flanges adapted to be assembled by endwisesliding in interlocked relation, each end wall having near its upperedge a troughlike'reinforcing member adapted to drain onto said ledge,an inwardly projecting horizontal flange on the lower edge of each endWall adapted to underlie the trunk bottom, constituting a reinforcingplate therefor.

7. A trunk having a bottom, a front wall, a back wall and a lid hingedthereto, the back edge of said bottom flanged upwardly, reinforcingstraps secured to the inner face of said bottom at the end thereof, thehack ends of said stra s flanged upwardly, the lower edge of said ackwall received between the upright flanges of said straps and bottom, endwalls, each formed with an inwardly projecting horizontal flange adaptedto underlie the trunk bottom and constituting, together with said innerreinforcing strap an anchorage for said bottom.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature.

CALVIN L. HALLADAY.

